Coinciding with the 55th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Ala., this exhibition visualizes the past through the lens of the present, pushing the boundaries of portraiture and engaging ongoing national issues of racism, violence against African Americans, and terrorism in churches. Each of Mr. Bey’s diptychs combines one portrait of a young person the same age as one of the victims with another of an adult 50 years older—the child’s age had they survived.

Just after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, José Andrés arrived and started cooking. Mr. Andrés, whose 29 restaurants have earned him Michelin stars and James Beard Awards, fed hundreds of thousands of people as they scrambled to rebuild their lives. “We Fed an Island” describes his experiences in Puerto Rico and details the community of activists feeding the island to this day. A portion of the proceeds from book sales will be donated to the Chef Relief Network of World Central Kitchen for efforts in Puerto Rico and beyond.

Explore Turkish art and culture at this free festival for all ages, where visitors can try weaving with local artists, enjoy Turkish dance performances, sample Turkish coffee and explore the spectacular craft of nomadic women from the museum’s latest exhibition, “A Nomad’s Art: Kilims of Anatolia.”

Cristal Chanelle Truscott, the 2018-19 William Wilson Corcoran Visiting Professor of Community Engagement, is a playwright, scholar, educator and founder of Progress Theatre. This interactive artist talk and performance will focus on using theater as social movement and community activism and will feature live a cappella music and theatrical excerpts.

Artists Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese bring their public art series, “Melted Away,” to the National Mall on Sept. 22 with “TRUTH BE TOLD,” a slowly melting ice sculpture spelling the word TRUTH. They will join journalist Chip Gibbon and PEN America Washington Director Thomas O. Melia for a discussion of truth, art and public discourse.

The dramatic art of Beijing Opera is one of China’s most celebrated cultural traditions. Before performing six featured scenes from classic operas, DCBBO will give a brief overview of the art. The artists will then showcase the four major performance skills, which are singing, recitation, dance acting and martial arts.

Bob Woodward, one of America's most notable investigative journalists, will discuss his latest book, “Fear: Trump in the White House.” Don’t miss this inside look at the Trump presidency. Tickets will go on sale Friday, Sept. 14, at noon. GW community members can claim their $10 tickets in person at Lisner at that time, while general tickets will be available online at gwutickets.com.

This conference examines the negative impact of the fashion industry on people and the planet and looks at ways individuals can implement sustainable changes in their own lives and neighborhoods. Presented by the DC Sustainable Fashion Collective.

Acclaimed Azerbaijani artist Faig Ahmed creates breathtaking woven carpets that throw conventional patterns into chaos. This intimate exhibition introduces new works and installations by Mr. Ahmed, inspired by Peruvian textiles in the museum’s collections and his field research in the Peruvian Amazon.

Former American Vogue editor-at-large André Leon Talley has been a fashion world fixture for decades. This documentary follows his growth from a child in the segregated Jim Crow South to one of the most influential tastemakers and fashion curators of our times.

The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live 30th Anniversary Tour features two separate, unique shows at Lisner, each featuring the wisecracking hosts and iconic robots from the cult favorite TV show riffing on a cheesy B-movie.

The first exclusively live work ever acquired for the Hirshhorn’s permanent collection, “This You” features a solo female singer interacting with spectators. Mr. Sehgal says his artwork raises the question, “Can something that is not an inanimate object be considered valuable?”

This exhibition examines the evolution of Washington, D.C., through two newly commissioned panoramic landscape paintings by local artist Peter Waddell. One shows the grand city that planner Pierre L’Enfant envisioned, while the other captures the city’s development by 1825, the year L’Enfant died.

How do you prove what is yours when everything around you is unstable, including yourself? Catherine is turning 25 and has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father. After his death, her estranged sister and a former student of her father both arrive, each with a different goal. “Proof” was the winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best Play.

Dorothy’s ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz” return to view as one of eight installations displaying American history through culture, entertainment and the arts. Other artifacts on view include a New York Yankee Stadium ticket booth, jazz and classical instruments, a video game wall and a stained glass window from the Victor Company’s headquarters in Camden, N.J., featuring “Nipper,” the iconic dog listening to his master’s recorded voice.

After Pete Souza finished his eight-year run as Barack Obama’s White House photographer, he posted a string of Instagram posts pairing his vivid photography with incisive captions contrasting Obama to his successor. “Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents” includes hundreds of his Obama photographs as a powerful historical reminder of American values. The event is sold out to the general public, but GW community members can claim discounted tickets in person at the Lisner Auditorium box office using a GW ID.

The world as we know it is over. As group of survivors pass the time around a campfire, they piece together the plot of a “The Simpsons” episode entirely from memory. But as the apocalypse drags on, memory falters and live entertainment based on pop culture becomes mythology.

Mystery fans and would-be detectives can get a taste of blood at this two-day festival, which will feature live versions of fan favorite podcasts like Criminal and Wine & Crime and shows like Buzzfeed Unsolved.

This immersive, confessional and unsettling opera is based on the writings of Marin Sorescu, who in 1996 was nominated for a Nobel Prize, only to be diagnosed with liver cancer later that year. A literary hero in his native Romania, he continued to write poetry for the last five weeks of his life.

During his career, British painter Howard Hodgkin completed over 120 lithographs, etchings and screenprints. He gifted 10 prints to the Brady Art Gallery, including the breathtaking series “Venetian Views.” A companion exhibition, “Italy Inspiration: Images from the GW Community,” will feature photographs and prints from the GW collection and paintings by GW alumni.

Fashion house Rodarte is known for its conceptual blend of high couture, modern femininity, craftsmanship and California cool. This exhibit offers a look at the first 13 years of the label’s work via pieces from pivotal collections, as well as accessories, runway videos and video shorts.

Hailed as the new vanguard of indie rock after 2016’s “Puberty 2,” Mitski drew even more accolades with her sophomore album, “Be The Cowboy,” this summer. The singer-songwriter brings her incisive, pristine vocals to D.C. in November.